The Pittsburgh Steelers have just received word that the appeal for wide receiver DK Metcalf has been upheld; he will be forced to miss the final two games of the regular season. That means he cannot return until the postseason, as long as Pittsburgh makes it there. Clearly, the NFL either did not buy his story that the fan, Ryan Kennedy, called him a racial slur and called his mother another derogatory name, or thought it justified the star receiver's actions. Now, he has to sit and hope that his team wins either of its next two games, or else he will have the guilt of hurting his team the whole offseason.
CBS on NFL
DK Metcalf of the Pittsburgh Steelers grabs a fan aggressively confronts him during a professional football game in Detroit, MI.
Of course, there are two sides to every story. Kennedy's side is that all he did was call Metcalf by his full legal government name, DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf. In a video posted by one of his family members, there were no derogatory names being called out, but it was also cut up, which begs the question of what happened between cuts. Kennedy was also filmed saying "that was the goal" to get a reaction out of the receiver.
While everyone was questioning what would happen to Metcalf, there were questions about the fate of the fan. The veteran wideout had reported Kennedy in 2024 as well, but nothing was done then. With all this information in mind, there were rumors of him being banned from Ford Field and maybe other venues as well. It is now confirmed that that will not be the case, as reported by Tom Pelissero.
Meanwhile, the NFL and the Lions will not take action against the fan involved in the altercation with Steelers WR DK Metcalf on Sunday in Detroit because "there was no violation of the fan code of conduct," per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 24, 2025
In the investigation from the NFL and the Detroit Lions, they could not confirm Metcalf's story or what was really said, so they opted to not punish Kennedy at all. He and his blue hair will be allowed to continue to attend professional football games as a spectator with no restrictions whatsoever. They also found nothing from the wideout's previous issue with him.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers' DK Metcalf (4) alongside Wide Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
The big issue, as mentioned before, is that there are so many unknowns to this story. Did Metcalf lie? Did Kennedy lie? Were there other things that took place in this particular contest that got under the receiver's skin? We may never know the truth. The only ones that do know it for a fact are the two main participants in this story. Whoever is lying deserves a steep penalty, even if they both did.
Steelers' Situation With Metcalf May Go Beyond The NFL
On top of all this, Kennedy has gotten his lawyer involved in the situation, so he is willing to go to court and try to convince a jury that he did not say the awful things that Metcalf claimed he did. There is not much video evidence of what was said, but there are numerous angles of the Steelers player putting his hands on the fan. Some people would count that as assault, and it would lead to a massive payday.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf runs on the field at the UPMC Sports Complex as the team practices during 2025 Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in Pittsburgh, PA.
All around, this is a terrible situation for Metcalf and the Steelers. He let a fan get under his skin, and now he's paying for it. He will lose both game checks remaining in 2025, he has already potentially lost $45 million in guarantees, and he could now lose a lot more money if this does end up going to court and he loses there. If the Steelers miss the playoffs, he will get chirped even more, but by his own fans this time.
What do you think about Kennedy not getting punished? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
#SteelerNation
